WRITTEN BY: HUSSAINI ABDULLAHI JAMILU
The media play an important role in the proper functioning of a democracy. Discussion of the media’s functions within electoral contexts, often focuses on their “watchdog” role. The media has a role to inform the citizens about the competing political parties and their programmes and candidates, and to contribute to the formation of opinion of the electorate.The media inform the public of how effectively they have performed and help to hold them to account.
Consequently, the roles media play in enabling full public participation in elections: Are educating voters on how to exercise their democratic rights, reporting on the development of an election campaign, providing a platform for the political parties and candidates to communicate their message to the electorate, providing a platform for the public to communicate their concerns, opinions, and needs, to the parties/candidates, the government, and to other voters, and to interact on these issues, allowing the parties and candidates to debate with each other, reporting results and monitoring vote counting, scrutinizing the electoral process itself, including electoral management, in order to evaluate the fairness of the process, its efficiency, and its probity. providing information that, as far as possible, avoids inflammatory language, helping to prevent election-related violence.
Also, the media are not the only source of information for voters, but in a world dominated by mass communications, it is increasingly the media that determine the political agenda, even in less technologically developed countries. Also, the media plays a major role in keeping the citizenry abreast of current events and raising awareness of various issues in any society. It also has an extremely significant impact on the public’s views and way of thinking.
More so, the media is the primary means through which public opinion is shaped and at times manipulate.The media should therefore help to educate the electorate on the workings of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in order for all to appreciate the responsibility that has been placed on the shoulders of the commission to deepen our democratic credentials once again. Thus, the greater responsibility for ensuring credible elections lies with the media than politicians in the sense that most Nigerian electorate learn about issues, events and people from the media, including the now very popular social media.
Therefore, the media have to broadcast credible information without being biased and subjective.It is for this reason that election observation teams, for example, routinely comment upon media access and coverage of elections as a criterion for judging whether elections are free, fair, and credible. Monitoring the media during election periods has become an increasingly common practice, using a combination of statistical analysis and the techniques of media studies and discourse analysis to measure media’s role in an election. The numerous ways in which media ensure democratic electoral processes generally fall into one of the following categories: Media as transparency/watchdog, media as a campaign platform, media as open forum for debate and discussion/public voice, and media as public educator.
Fourthermore, free and fair elections are not only about the freedom to vote and the knowledge of how to cast a vote, but a participatory process where voters engage in public debate and have adequate information about parties, policies, candidates and the election process in order to make informed choices. The media have to be bold to report accurately on anything that can derail the democratic process.
Meanwhile, the media are an essential organ of the democratic set-up, an important vehicle of communication and instrument in the creation of public opinion. This has earned the media the trust to serve public interest. The media have to provide honest, detailed, dependable and credible account of events concerning the elections. Journalists have to go to the polls to report live- interviewing observers, Electoral Commission officials at the polling stations and the public to ensure everything is going well.
Additionally, The media have to report on irregularities, fraud, threats of violence to get authorities to respond. Also, groups of thugs who are plotting to disrupt the vote can be arrested and dealt with if the media are able to report on it.
Finally, the television and radio stations and online media have to make sure to provide live results so the electorate are duly informed about the outcome of elections they have taken a part in.
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